It isn’t easy to give expression to your thoughts. But when you do, it gives you immense joy. Reining in your racing mind to give proper shape to the thought flow is as challenging as a game of chess. Chess is a mind game. So is writing. Both involve deep analysis, sound reasoning and logical sequences. Analysing and visualising the atmosphere, events, situations and experiences, and crafting them together to create a world of words is the essence of writing.
How do writers manage to write voluminous novels? How long do they take to pen such big works? Which is more difficult: Writing a novel or penning a column for a newspaper or magazine? While a novel has no restrictions on the number of words, a column does. Confining your writing to the word count is a serious challenge as you are faced with the twin issues: not missing out on important details and not crossing the word limit as space is at a premium.
This is where your skill as a writer is put to severe test. Economy and choice of words are of essence. Also, you will notice how skilfully freelancers and columnists try to delight you with their articles, saying everything they want to say and yet not crossing the writer’s line of control! If it is a 100-metre dash for columnists, it is a marathon for novelists. Some authors use long, loopy sentences, sometimes running to almost half the page. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is a classic example where she casts such a mesmerising web of words that will leave you spellbound.
A daunting task for an infant reader because by the time he reaches the end of the long paragraph, he will be compelled to re-read the beginning and connect the dots in between to finally get a sense of the author’s mind. For a writer, playing with words is indeed sheer joy. A successful writer is able to select those that will best express his thoughts and hold the reader’s attention, making him visualise and feel the scenes, in exactly the same way as a television.
Such is the power of writing, which helps us traverse all emotions that occur in our life. Readers are of different mindsets. Some enjoy the choice of words. Some look at the content. Capturing the reader’s attention is the acid test for a writer. “Give me a piece, I will turn it into a masterpiece” is a writer’s gambit, a la the Queen’s Gambit in chess. Accepted? Or declined?